248 TEANSACTIONS OF THE HOKTICULTUEAL 



law in our own State. He further remarks: "In England they 

 dry the pernicious weeds and burn them, not only destroying root 

 and branch, but seed, also. In weeds, evil should be, emphatically, 

 nipped in the bud. In this way, the farmers should act in the spirit 

 of the western savages, who killed the women and children of their 

 enemies, as a tolerably sure way of preventing the multiplication of 

 warriors." Don't let your weeds go until after seed is formed, but 

 attend to thera early in the season; don't let them breathe, for the 

 leaP^es are the lungs of plants, and without them, they cannot live 

 long. Don't throw weedy straw into the barnyard to be used as 

 manure afterward, for in that way you will seed down your land 

 and cause yourself much extra work. Cultivate often in a dry time, 

 and do it well. Keep your roadsides and fence corners well seeded 

 down with grass and the weeds will be choked out. These are a 

 few rules which are easily followed and will save much work in 

 years to come. 



"There is a tide in the affairs of men which, taken at the flood, 

 leads on to fortune." Farmers of Illinois ! your flood tide is here. 

 There is a time when the weeds upon your farm can be eradicated 

 with comparative ease. Do not wait until the tide has begun to 

 ebb, and you have hosts to fight against which would never have 

 existed, if you had acted at an earlier date. I will now mention 

 some of our worst weeds, with a few observations on then/. 



The ragweed {Ambrosia artemisicefolia) is so coitimon that it 

 needs little description. Its Latin name ambrosia, signifying " food 

 of the gods," is not very applicable. It is found almost everywhere : 

 in the stubble, in gardens, along the roadsides, and in our meadows 

 and pastures. The pollen from its blossoms aggravates hay fever, 

 and is injurious to the health of cattle and hogs. When this 

 weed is not attended to, it renders pasture land almost utterly worth- 

 less for grazing. The past season may have been an exceptional one 

 for plant growth, but along the Illinois bottoms I have seen large 

 tracts of pasture and cultivated land almost covered with ragweed, 

 in many cases the stocks being about ten feet high. I have been on 

 some country roads where it was so high that you could not see into 

 the adjoining fields. Of course, this is due to mere shiftlessness on 

 the part of the land owners and road commissioners, but such a state 

 of things should not be. Usually, this kind of weed may be killed 

 if cut just before, or while they are in flower. Sheep clear a pasture 

 of this pest. 



The velvet leaf or Indian mallow {Abufilon avicennce) is another 

 familiar weed It grows from two to five feet high. The stem and 

 leaves — the latter usually of good size — are covered with short 

 hairs, giving them a velvety appearance, from which it derives its 

 name. The flowers are small and yellow. Like most of our trouble- 

 some weeds, this plant is a foreigner, being a native of India. It 



